Do I need a "client" table?

[BobDu4]

Newbie here...



I am developing a ticketing system to track contacts into a call center. 99+% of our clients will only call in once. The purpose of the DB is to track the work performed by our staff (advising on policy, or updating the public as to the status of their request). Is there a need to create a client table, or should each client contact simply be logged within the body of each ticket?

Thanks for your help!

[orange]

That is not a question that the reader can answer. Did you write down your database specifications? It is an interesting task to describe clearly and concisely WHAT business rules your data base is intended to support. Try it --it will clear up confusion between Contact and Client -- if there is any.

Here's a sample and tutorial from RogersAccessLibrary.

Sample description of business the database should support:

ZYX Laboratories requires an employee tracking database. They want to track information about employees, the employee's job history, and their certifications. Employee information includes first name, middle initial, last name, social security number, address, city, state, zip, home phone, cell phone, email address. Job history would include job title, job description, pay grade, pay range, salary, and date of promotion. For certifications, they want certification type and date achieved.

Good luck.

[BobDu4]

A bit more informaton...

Municipality X currently does not track queries (calls/contacts) from its residents; call centre staff simply answer the question(s) with documenting who called, or for what purpose. Currently no record of any kind is kept regarding the call.

Managemtent now (finally!) wants to track the work being done for 2 reasons: 1.) To track employee performance, and 2.) To retain a record in case the client calls back regarding the same issue(s). Note: Call-backs are anticipated to be low (less than 1%). Clients will be primarily calling to check on the status of things like builing permints - either how to submit one, or what the status is of their existing submission.

A "Ticket" table will be created containing the description of the querie, and the response giving to the client. In case the client calls back, I would like to be able to retrive the information from the previous call(s). First Name, Last Name, Home Phone, Cell Phone, Address, ZIP, and Email Address would be tracked, along with transaction date & time.
Should the client's contact information be embedded within the ticket table, or should a seperate table be created detailing the client information (address, phone #s, etc.?).
I was advised that as the overwhelming majority of callers will only call once, that there is no need to maintain a client list in a seperate table. Note that there are over 2 million inhabitants in Municipality X.